Pressure takes its toll as Henin quits

Justine Henin has quit tennis because she has worn herself out being the world’s No1 woman player.

The Belgian announced her decision to retire yesterday, saying: “I’m at the end of the road, I’m growing up and need different things.

“I just don’t recover physically as well as I used to. I’m still young in life, but starting to get old on the tour.”

Henin, 25, has been blighted by injury problems for more than a year. She came back 12 months ago after a virus infection that caused a blood disorder and breathing problems. Then she had to contend with knee and thigh injuries and has constantly battled fatigue.

Her driven desire to become the best in the world won her nearly £10million in prize money alone and career earnings of £20m. But it cost her not only her health, but her marriage to Pierre-Yves Hardenne last Christmas.

I take the decision without the least regret, because I know that my life as a woman starts from now

Justine Henin

Henin, the first player to quit while ranked world No1, said: “I’ve been playing for 20 years and it’s been my whole life, but as a woman as you get older you need to think about the future.

“I’d love to go back to study, it would be a good challenge, and now it’s become easier to make sacrifices because I know there are other things coming.

“I’m going to take time for myself without all the pressure of playing, to go skiing, and do all the things I haven’t been able to do.”

Henin has collected seven Grand Slam titles, including the French, US and Australian Championships, but never won Wimbledon.

The favourite last year, she was a surprise loser in the semi-final to Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli when the rain-hit schedule meant she lost valuable days off in her bid to recover from tiredness and ill health.

With it went the famous fighting spirit, which meant that she no longer had the mental strength to beat bigger and more stronger opponents.

Two weeks ago after another shock defeat, by Russia’s Dinara Safina, Henin acknowledged: “I didn’t have the intensity I needed to win the match.

“It was then I decided to stop fooling myself and accept it. I knew the time had come.”

Henin appears burned out, mentally as well as physically. Becoming a champion has taken its toll and she steps off the WTA circuit only a fortnight before the start of the French Open she has won four times, three in succession.

It was still a shock announcement from the woman who, at 5ft 5ins and 8st, had found it increasingly difficult to live with some of the East European Amazons now on the circuit.

Henin, her voice cracking with emotion and with tears in her eyes, said: “The decision is final, and there will be no turning back. There is a new future ahead.

“This is the end of a child’s dream. I have thought long and hard about it since last year. I leave the game I love with my head held high. It is a new beginning for me. I feel I have already lived three lives because I gave tennis everything I had, and took everything it gave me.

“I take the decision without the least regret, because I know that my life as a woman starts from now.”

Henin has no regrets about not winning Wimbledon. “It would would not have made me happier than I am,” she said. “I could never bring myself to dream of it. It was destiny and I didn’t feel myself capable of becoming champion. It was just too much for me.”

And although she claimed she was happy with her decision, her coach Carlos Rodriquez, sitting beside her, burst into tears.

He said simply: “Because of Justine, I am a somebody in life.”

Wimbledon champion Venus Williams will now be overwhelming favourite to successfully defend her title as one of her main rivals has been removed from the equation.

She is also now in pole position to inherit Henin’s top ranking and she will believe she can make her challenge in Paris, starting on May 25.

Williams said: “Justine was always a great opponent and that’s because she was always such a fighter.”

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